A Thanksgiving Service that Opened Our Eyes

This past month, we celebrated Thanksgiving at Pattaya Akha UMC, an Akha hilltribe church.  Christian Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving here in Thailand is different than in the States, where it is a family celebration.  Here it is a big meal for the whole church and everyone brings produce (or in the cities - people buy groceries) and they give it to the Lord at church.   At the end of the worship service, we have a big meal together and then the produce and groceries are distributed to people in need. 

Many of the members of the Pattaya Akha UMC gave testimonies of Thanksgiving before the whole church.  But there was one testimony of Thanksgiving that opened our eyes, and this testimony was given by the man in the picture above.

Here is his word of thanksgiving to God, He thanked the Lord for the Bible being translated in the Akha language for 66 years now.  He said his grandparents remember a time when there was no Bible in their language, and how the whole Akha Christian community in Southeast Asia rejoiced when they could finally read the Bible for themselves!  Can you imagine?  We take it for granted that we can read the Bible in our own language.  We are so steeped in incredible blessings from God, that we do not even know how good we have it.  Thanks be to God for the Holy Bible.  And we give thanks to the Gideons, and the Thai Bible Society, and the Akha Bible Society for making it possible to have Thai and Akha language Bibles to give to people who could never afford to buy their own Bible.

We and the staff have been busy developing curriculum and video resources for the Abundant Life Savings Group Program, where people learn how to manage their money God's way, according to biblical principles.  Abundant Life Savings Groups are now active in 6 churches and we see families being blessed by God as they apply the Bible to their finances.  Many who were in debt are now debt-free!  Many who have lived their lives in deep poverty are now thriving and moving towards financial peace.  And the churches that have had Abundant Life Savings Groups for more than one year have all begun to see the church finances improve greatly.  Below is a picture of our staff making training videos for the Abundant Life Savings Group Program.

 As the families in the churches become financially stronger, the Thai churches become financially stronger.  And as the Thai churches become financially stronger, they do what Thai churches do so well.  They plant new churches, because it is in their DNA to share the Good News.  Of the four churches that have had Abundant Life Savings Groups for more than one year, three of them are involved in planting churches, and they are doing so without our assistance too.  At this time, those 3 churches are involved with 7 new church plants! We really believe that one of the best way to plant new churches in Thailand is to help the existing churches to become financially strong.  God has been blessing.

Finally, we want to give an update on the progress for fundraising for Phase 1 of the Training Center.  Phase 1 is buying land, building a retainer wall, and raising the land by about 4 feet.  it will cost $80,000 for this first phase, and we are praying that individuals and churches and church groups will give to the Building Fund during this Christmas season. 

So far over $38,000 has been given, and we praise the Lord for this wonderful progress towards the goal.  Please keep praying for this goal.

If the Lord leads you to give towards this project, please be sure to designate to the Building Fund.

You can send a check to:
TMM
P.O. Box 56
Mannsville, KY 42758

OR give ONLINE at https://thailandmethodist.org/donate/

Sherri and I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.  May the Lord fill your hearts with joy.

Kentucky VIM Team was a blessing from God!

First, many of you asked enjoyed last year's Advent Readings and asked us to do it again, so we have made a new one for 2019 that you can use at home.  This can also be an used to print as an insert for your church bulletin.  Included with the Daily Advent Readings is our latest newsletter.  Please print it out, read it and post it at your church bulletin board or in your Sunday School class..  Here is the link that you can click on to download > https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wyYtr1ZBrMMJf1CIvVTy7D-d8_Knp9S7/view?usp=sharing

Next, we want to thank you for your prayers for the Kentucky VIM Team that served last month.  We traveled long distances, and your prayers kept us all safe.  This was the first VIM team that we have had to focus on the Pioneer Pastor Program. Previous teams focused on Blessing Home centers and locations for future centers.  This is why we had to travel so much, because Thailand is a large nation and this ministry is a nationwide ministry.

This team was here to Prayer Walk together with Thai Christians, to do Mini-English Camps, and to participate in 2 important ceremonies, the 2019 Commencement Event of Global Theological Institute, and the Grand Opening Ceremony of the new church building of Fire of Glory Church.

Prayer Walking was new to the Thai pastors and also new to some of the VIM team members.  This is when you walk the streets of the neighborhood and silently pray for all of the households in that neighborhood.  The Thai pastors were VERY EXCITED about Prayer Walking, and they wanted to make sure that all of the power of prayer could be brought to their neighborhoods as possible.  So when the Thai pastors at two locations organized their prayer walks, we had no idea that they were going to take the team on marathon walks.  We split up into several groups that went different directions.  Then we began to walk and pray, and walk and pray, and walk some more.  We started to think "surely they are going to loop back soon, we have walked for a long time in the heat, but instead the pastors had us keep walking.  We knew this was a real challenge for the team who was not accustomed to the tropical heat, but they were real troopers!  Some had blisters from walking such a long distance, and we knew we had to tell the Thai pastors to please limit the walking next time.  We knew the pastors wanted to have as many households be covered with prayer as possible.

The team held three English mini-camps.  One at Blessing Home Isan, another at Abundant Blessings Church in Sukhothai, and another at Prasiri UMC in Bangkok.  They played games, and did 2 crafts that presented the gospel message.  And one of our Thai staff, Teddy, did a gospel presentation.  The children were touched by the Bible messages presented by the team and they had a blast!  The team had fun with the kids too.

The team also were prayer warriors.  They visited shut-ins and prayed.  They prayed for children at the English Mini-Camps.  They prayed for leaders and church members at the churches.  This ministry of prayer was greatly appreciated by the Thai Christians.  The prayers of God's people move mountains!

The team also participated in the Commencement Ceremony for Global Theological Institute.  Their presence as "dignitaries" provided an international connection and affirmation for the 20 graduates who worked hard to earn their B.Min. and M.Min degrees.  3 of the graduates are Pioneer Pastors.  Pastors Det and Dao serve at Life Center Church at TaPhraya and are also Directors of the Blessing Home TaPhraya Center.  It took them two days of hard travel by pickup truck to get to Chiang Dao where the ceremony was being held.  On the way home, their left front tire blew out and they lost control of their pickup truck.  They spun out of control and into the trees on the side of the highway.  And your prayers protected them.  No one was harmed.  The pickup had to be repaired, but it is just machinery.

Pastor Dao with Dr. Tanapong, President of Global Theological Institute

Pastor Det with Dr. Tanapong

Dr. James Wafford, Dr. Loletuth Kalz, and Dr. John Kalz pray for the graduates

The other Pioneer Pastor graduate was Pastor Prik of Sawi Church.  Pastor Prik and her husband and family also travelled for two days to arrive at the graduation ceremony.

Pastor Prik receiving her diploma from Dr. Sherri Morrissey

Valedictorian address

The team also participated in the Grand Opening Celebration of the new Fire of Glory Church Building.  It was a joyous occassion, and the team represented all of you who prayed for this project and who gave generously to make it happen.  Your prayers and generosity changes lives in Thailand.  And this church has already helped to plant many other churches.  And they will continue to spread the gospel, not only in their city but also throughout the nation.

Finally, an update on fundraising for Phase One of the Training Center (purchase land, build retainer wall, and fill up land by at least 5 feet).  The goal is $80,000 by the end of the year.  We now have received a little over $23,000!  Praise the Lord!  Keep Praying!

Please pray, and as the Lord leads you, give as well.  Please be sure to designate your gift for the "Building Fund" if you want your donation to go towards the Training Center.

You can give online at https://thailandmethodist.org/donate/

OR

Send a check to:

TMM
Box 56
Mannsville, KY 42758

A Very Important Announcement

Now when he had departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” And he gave him his hand. - 2 Kings 10:15.

If you have never read John Wesley’s sermon on 2 Kings 10:15, just Google it under “John Wesley catholic spirit.”  It is an uplifting sermon worth the time to read and it sheds light one of the distinctives of Methodism.  As Methodists, we are a part of the Body of Christ, which includes believers of various denominations and groups who follow the Lord Jesus Christ.  Serving cooperatively with others outside of Methodism is an important part of our Wesleyan DNA.

This is also the norm for Thai Christians, who work together, side-by-side, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. In Thailand, believers from different denominations eagerly recognize each other as brothers and sisters; together we form the Body of Christ.  And this is how the Thailand Methodist Mission has always operated.

So, in the “catholic spirit” of John Wesley, we have a very important announcement to make: 

On January 1, 2020, the Thailand Methodist Mission will change its name to Thailand Now.  Our mission and faith remain the same.  Only our name is changing.

Why the name change?  First, we are changing our name to Thailand Now, because it best represents who we are as a mission organization.

Each of the ministries of the Thailand Methodist Mission have strong Methodist connection and support: the three Blessing Home anti-trafficking centers; Special Blessings Korat; the Abundant Life Savings Group and Financial Training program, and the Pioneer Pastor church planting program.

‘On the ground’ each of these ministries also works inter-denominationally, with different Methodist and Wesleyan church organizations as well as Overseas Mission Fellowship, the Assemblies of God, and indigenous Thai groups.

In Thailand, our missionaries and ministries have always worked cooperatively, and inter-denominationally. We’ve never exclusively worked with only one group or organization. In a nation where only one percent of the population is Christian, it is essential for Christian organizations who serve the same Lord, to serve together in harmony.

To put it simply, working together as the Body of Christ, with its varied expressions, is what we do.  Our new name, Thailand Now, better reflects the cooperative, inter-denominational way that our ministries have always operated in Thailand.

And now, for the second reason:

“For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”  -  2 Corinthians 6:2

Our new name, Thailand Now, also evokes the immediacy of 2 Corinthians 6:2.  NOW is the time of God’s favor.  NOW is the day of salvation. Our Thai brothers and sisters understand this very clearly. Weekly, in worship, Thai Christians sing songs that call believers to pray for their nation, and that remind them of the urgency to share with others the salvation that is available through Jesus.

The urgency of the need to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ is also what compels us as missionaries to serve.  NOW is the time to bring the gospel to unreached people in Thailand and to plant new churches. NOW is the time to help vulnerable children to stay in school and out of the brothels.  NOW is the time to help children with special needs to succeed.  This is why, January 1, 2020, we become Thailand Now.

Your prayers are ETERNAL. Your prayers have no expiration date.

Every VIM team needs your prayers, because when you pray for them, great things happen. We remember this VIM team from 2015 led by Dr. John Kalz.  They were a team of ordinary Christians (like us) with extraordinary faith.  They visited and prayed for seniors and children who lived in desperate poverty in TaPhraya and helped to put on a fun day camp for the children of that community.  And they prayed and were moved by a vision to build a new Blessing Home center and church in TaPhraya.  When they went home, John and this team raised funds to purchase land and build this third Blessing Home center.

The next year, John and the 2016 Kentucky VIM came and dedicated the new Blessing Home TaPhraya building, initiating a new ministry to this unreached county.  (See the picture below of Dr. John Kalz and the 2016 Kentucky VIM team cutting the ribbon to open the new building.)  Remember that our prayers are eternal.  The power of our prayers continue into eternity and do not stop.  Everyone who prayed for the 2015 VIM team still have their prayers in effect.  Every child and adult who gives their life to Christ is eternally changed because of those prayers from five years ago.  Every child who can go to school and is not trafficked is receiving blessings from the prayers of God's people that were lifted up to the Heavenly Father five years ago.  There is no expiration date to our prayers! 

The same 2015 Kentucky VIM team visited Fire of Glory Church in Nonthaburi province.  They experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in this group of Christ followers led by Pastor Somsri.  They saw how over-crowded the church was, as everyone met in the home of Pastor Somsri.  After the worship service, that team went out into a rice field that the church had purchased (with the heavy burden of a loan) and they prayed that Jehovah Jireh, the "God Who Provides", would provide the resources to pay off the land and build a large church building. 

Now this year's Kentucky VIM team will be dedicating the new Fire of Glory Church building on October 20.  The prayers of God's people from 5 years ago still continue to do miracles.  And God provided for everything needed for this building.  God is good!  Below is a picture of Sunday worship at the new Fire of Glory building.

This year's team will need your prayers because they are doing hard traveling while they are here through these dates: October 11-21.  They will be serving at Blessing Home Pattaya, Blessing Home Isan, and Pioneer Pastor churches in several locations.  They will be Prayer Walking, doing training with adults, day camps with children, and visiting shut-ins.  This team will participate in the 2019 Commencement Ceremony of Global Theological Institute.  They will be traveling and serving in the Eastern, Isan, Northern, Western, and Bangkok regions.  Please pray for endurance and strength and the power of the Holy Spirit to serve with love and gentleness.  Your prayers make great things happen, this year and forever.  Your prayers don't have an expiration date.

Finally, we would like to give a reminder and update of our need for special donations for Phase 1 of our Abundant Life Training Center.  We need to raise $80,000 by Christmas-time to purchase land, fill it with soil to raise it so it will not flood, and to build retainer walls.  At this time, we have received a little over $8,000.

We hope all supporting churches, groups, and individuals will pray about this.  And if the Lord leads you to help, please be sure to designate your gift to the Building Fund.

You can give online at https://thailandmethodist.org/donate/

OR

Send a check to:

TMM
Box 56
Mannsville, KY 42758

A request for Christmas time

Please read and pray and then do what the Lord leads you to do.

We have a challenging situation, and we are asking you to help. The demand for leader training in the Abundant Life Program, and the training pastors and church leaders through the Pioneer Pastor Program far exceeds our capabilities.

Currently, we must travel long distances and many hours to get to churches to provide training. It is not uncommon for us to drive over 12 hours to get to a church location before the training event even starts. Even with careful scheduling, this eats up too much time and money, and severely limits the number of groups we can train. 

Establishing a training center, where groups can stay for several days to receive a complete module of training at a time, would help us to train more people and do it within our budget. It will also be the best use of God's resources that God’s people provide through gifts and donations.

This year, we are asking all the churches and individuals that support the Thailand Methodist Mission to help by taking up special Christmas offerings, so we can purchase land and build a training center.   

This is a huge undertaking, and we must do it in phases. 

The first phase will be purchasing land, bringing in soil to raise the level of the land by about 5 feet (so there are no problems with flooding), and building a retainer wall.  This phase will cost $80,000.  

Here are some of the next phases:

Phase 2: Construction of staff housing (needed on-site), and a Seminar Room with connecting missionary apartment;

Phase 3: Construction of large meeting room with restrooms;

Phase 4: Construction of simple barracks style buildings with bunk beds;

Phase 5: Construction of Office 

Land will be purchased in Buriram province at Lam Plai Mat.  This is located in the Isan region of Thailand.  This is a strategic location for many reasons.  Our ministries focus on the Isan and South regions.  These two regions of Thailand are "deserts of the Gospel", being the regions where there are the least churches.   One can travel for many hours and never pass a single church.

Buriram province is highlighted in red on this map.  It is strategic because:

1.  Blessing Home Isan, Blessing Home Ta Phraya, and Special Blessings Korat are located within an easy two-hour drive, so going to these locations will become day-trips.

2.  Many of our most recent Pioneer Pastor church starts are in this region.

3.  Buriram airport is nearby.  This is significant, as it will allow us to easily fly to the Southern region where we also concentrate effort through the Abundant Life Savings Group Program and the Pioneer Pastor Program.  A round-trip flight costs only $60, and saves us money on hotels, gas, and several days on the road driving back and forth between regions. We will be better able to serve the churches in the South, while spending less time and money traveling lost distances.

This is the time of the year that most churches start to make decisions concerning Christmas time.  So please pray, and if the Lord leads you, please ask to have a special Christmas offering for the Abundant Life Training Center.  We are praying that we have all of the funds needed by the end of 2019 to complete this phase.

In times past, I (Mike) have made a simple chart to display where we are on reaching the goal.  Since I lack all artistic ability, it is back to doing another simple chart.

This chart is in green, because the place that is being purchased is currently a vibrant green rice paddy.  We are already $6,000 into progress on this goal, because of the generosity of Madisonville First UMC taking a special offering at Easter time.  Thank you, brothers and sisters of Madisonville FUMC, for starting us out.

Please be sure to designate offerings as ‘Building Fund’.

Donations can be sent directly to Thailand Methodist Mission by check or online.  

Checks can be mailed to our treasurer at:

TMM

P.O. Box 56

Mannsville, KY 42758

Online donations can be done through our website at https://thailandmethodist.org/donate/

A wonderful month for Pioneer Pastors

We want to share with you some great news and thank you for your faithful service as prayer warriors.  We hope you are encouraged by the good news and it will spur you on to continue praying for this mission.

5 year anniversary celebration of Grace Church 

5 years ago, we worked with Pastor Peak and his wife Nam to plant a new church in Fai Kwang county, an unreached sub-district in Phayao Province..  This church is about a 14 hour drive north of where we live.

Phayao Province

Pastor Peak is a retired medic who served in the Thai Royal Army and is also a graduate of our Bible college, Global Theological Institute.  When Pastor Peak and Teacher Nam began to plant this church and visit families in the area, they experienced much resistance from the Buddhist monks from a nearby temple.  When a Thai mission team came from Bangkok to do a prayer walk through the community, the Buddhist monks followed up the next day doing a prayer walk of their own, following the same path the Christians took the day before.  (Here is a link to the blog post from 5 years ago > http://msmorrissey.blogspot.com/2015/05/pioneer-pastor-couple-facing-difficult.html)

Pastor Peak and Teacher Nam humbly persevered and served by bringing the Good News of Jesus to the students at the vocational school across the street from them, and they also led a program to train Christian pastors in Laos who were unable to go to Bible college because of their restrictive governement.  Pastor Peak has trained scores of Laotian pastors in courses such as Old Testament Survey, New Testament Survey, Christian Doctrine, and other basic courses.

Teacher Nam and Pastor Peak at the
5 Year Anniversary Celebration

When we received a call inviting us to the 5 year anniversary celebration of Grace Church, we rejoiced and were excited to participate in this event on August 3.

While at the celebration, we met two missionaries who serve at a training center in Phayao province and have been serving as missionaries in Thailand for 30 years now.  They have been encouragers for Pastor Peak and Teacher Nam.  Mike and Naomi talked about the huge "deserts" of unreached areas in Thailand, and wished most missionaries would spread out over the country to help serve these unreached areas.  They were an encouragement to us to meet missionaries with the same vision as God has given to us, to bring the gospel to unreached places in Thailand and plant churches in places where there are none in the county.

We praise the Lord, He has blessed the Pioneer Pastor Program, and now there have been 38 churches planted in counties that never had a church before.  God is good!

That 38th church was just planted last week in Buriram Province at Lahan Sai with Pastor Nampon and her husband Joy.   This church is a 5 hour drive northeast of us in the Isan region.

Pastor Nampon is a veteran Pioneer Pastor.  12 years ago, she planted the Almighty God Church in Nonsomboon, where Blessing Home Isan is now located.

Now she and her family moved out to Lahan Sai, and unreached county, 4 months ago.  Pastor Nampon and Joy are Christian foster parents of Maria (formerly called Naet), who is one of our Blessing Home children who was saved from being trafficked.  Maria has been in their care since she was 5 years old, and she is now 12 years old and in 7th grade.   Most of our foster parents of Blessing Home children are Pioneer Pastors.

Below are picture of Maria when she began with Blessing Home at 2 years old and a picture of her now.  Please pray for Maria, because she is struggling with math at school.  We have hired a tutor for her to study in the afternoon three days per week to help her with her math skills.

Maria (Naet) at two years of age

Maria today at 12 years of age

It amazes us that God is now using this Blessing Home child to be a helper to her parents as they plant a new church.  Maria loves the Lord and she invites all of her friends to come to church.

Every Pioneer Pastor Church is self-sufficient.  We help to provide Bible college education, training, and equipment, but we do not provide salaries for the pastors.  Self-sufficient churches are permanent churches because they do not depend upon outside support to survive.  Pastor Nampon's husband, Joy, will be supporting the family and ministry by selling BBQ Pork sticks and sticky rice.  Your donations helped to purchase a cart, so Joy can sell his BBQ and sticky rice in several locations (morning time at the school, afternoons at two different markets).

The Pioneer Pastor Program also purchased tables, chairs, a pulpit, curtains for the walls to dampen the sound, musical instruments, a sound system, and a sign.

Pastor Somsri, who serves as our Thai Coaching Pastor, will be bringing Thai mission teams from Fire of Glory Church for evangelism events during this next year and will do visits every 6 weeks.

Joy, Pastor Namporn, Pastor Somsri, and Pastor Warin

First service at Lahan Sai Church

On August 11, Lahan Sai church had their first worship service.  Please pray for this new Pioneer Pastor Church, that many people in Lahan Sai will receive Jesus as their Savior and Lord and will grow to be strong disciples of Christ at Lahan Sai Church.

It was especially meaningful to us that this church was planted on August 11, because it is our 35th anniversary.  I (Mike) belong to the "Married Up" club.  I am married to the most Christ-like woman that I have ever met, and I am blessed WAY BEYOND what I deserve.  And we are blessed to be called by God to serve together in Thailand.  God is good!

A HUGE Praise!

James 5:16b  
The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

Sherri and I are blessed by your prayers, because they do have great power and produce wonderful results.  We are grateful when you open our emails, read through them, and faithfully intercede with prayer.  We know you are busy and have many things vying for your attention.  So it humbles us to know that we are in your prayers.

A HUGE praise!

The new sanctuary building at Fire of Glory Church is near completion.  Electricians are doing their thing and the Soft Opening service will be on Sunday, June 30.  We will wait for another few months to have the Grand Opening celebration.  We are thankful to all who generously donated to make this happen and to all who faithfully prayed for this day.

Here are 2 pictures from two and three weeks ago.

Elder Rang is home with the Lord

Elder Rang of House of Immanuel Church in Buriram province passed away a three weeks ago.  We praise the Lord he has a new body and is no longer suffering.  Pastor Somsri (Mentoring Pastor for the Pioneer Pastor Program and Pastor of Fire of Glory Church) conducted Elder Rang's funeral, which was a four day event (funerals in Thailand typically go for several days).  Rang's wife, Elder Mui and her family send their appreciation to all who prayed for her husband and wants everyone to know that four people who attended the funeral received Jesus as their Savior and Lord.  Mui said that Rang was very happy in Heaven knowing that there are now new believers in Jesus Christ.  God is amazing!  Our Lord brings great blessings out of difficult times.  God is good!

Pastor Somsri at Elder Rang's funeral

Another blessing that happened from the passing of Elder Rang is that his son, Wood, has returned to Buriram to take care of his mother and to be a leader at the House of Immanuel Church.  Wood has worked with us for many years as a highly talented construction foreman.  And now he will be serving as a Pioneer Pastor.  Please pray for Wood as he and his family works through their grief while also taking on new responsibilities at the church.

Pastor Wood and his family

Introducing Doung, our newest staff member

Pastor Warin with her husband Doung, our Techie

The picture above is typical with Doung in the background.  Doung is very introverted and his wife Pastor Warin is one of the most extroverted people we know.  And they make a great team.  Doung is on board with our team now as our Tech Specialist.  Doung will be the webmaster for several websites for TMM ministries in Thailand, including the Abundant Life Program and Global Theological Institute.  Doung will also be taking and editing videos for both of those ministries, which requires him to travel frequently.   

Doung is central to propel both of these TMM ministries into the future.

Our goal with the Abundant Life Savings Group program is to have all training sessions and messages on video that can be accessed by a website and by a phone app.   

And our goal with Global Theological Institute is to have all courses for all degree programs become fully digital by 2013, including videos of lectures and training sessions for every course.

We are very excited about this new direction and we and Doung need prayer as we go to uncharted territory in our ministries.

May the Lord Bless You Greatly!

May 2019 Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

We are blessed to have prayer warriors like you, who are the powerhouse of the Thailand Methodist Mission.  Your prayers make the mission fruitful and are "wind at our backs" propelling us and the Thai pastors, leaders, and believers to keep moving forward.  This month, we have many prayer requests and praise reports, and we hope you will take the time to read through them and keep us in your personal prayers, in prayer in small groups at church, as well as during worship times.

1.  Praise Report and Update on Church Construction for the Fire of Glory Church in Nonthaburi;

We are close to completing construction, and believe we can have an Opening Celebration and Building Dedication Service in July.  It will be beautiful when finished and will be an answer to the prayers of all at Fire of Glory Church.  We preached and taught there this past Sunday, and the old building was overflowing with people.  The children had to sit on the floor at the front of the room right at our feet when we preached and in the aisle because there was no where else for them to sit.  

The new facility will give this church room to grow rapidly.

Here are some pictures of the church construction.

2.  Six Pioneer Pastors are now Doctor of Ministry students at Thailand Theological Seminary;

Pastor Banya of Life Center UMC, Pastor Wassana of Prasiri UMC, Pastors Somsri and Warin of Fire of Glory Church, Pastor Peter of God is Good Church, and Pastor Ekerin who serves in Chiang Mai province have begun their D.Min. studies.  We are proud of them and are blessed to see the church develop in much needed depth as well as in breadth.  

3.  Continued prayers for Elder Rang and his family;

Elder Rang, one of the three lay pastors of House of Immanuel Church, is in the final stages of his battle with abdominal cancer.  He is too weak to continue chemo, and he has to have dialysis because the cancer has pushed up against his kidneys causing them to shut down.  When Elder Rang underwent surgery to excise the part of the tumor causing distress to the kidneys, the surgeon pierced his kidney, and he had severe internal bleeding.  He was very close to death one week ago, but has rallied a bit.  His wife, Mui, who is the lead lay pastor at the church, and his son Woot are physically and emotionally exhausted as they care for Rang to keep him as comfortable as possible.  We believe Elder Rang has rallied a bit so his daughter Boo Bay could complete her final exams at university and come to the hospital to be with him.  

Cancer treatment have depleted all of the assets of this family who serves the Lord faithfully and sacrificially.  So we have given a scholarship to Elder Rang's daughter Boo Bay so she can complete her university studies in English to earn a B.A. degree.  Please keep Boo Bay in prayer that she will keep focused on her studies as she endures grief and great loss.  Her dream is to serve the Lord by starting a Christian nursery in her hometown.  We thank you for your generous donations that make it possible to help the daughter of Thai Pioneer Pastors.

Boo Bay in her university uniform

4.  Pastor Nampon has moved to plant a new Pioneer Pastor Church in Buriram province

Pastor Nampon, a veteran Pioneer Pastor who planted the church at Nonsomboon, which is the location of Blessing Home Isan, has moved with her family to Lahan Sai, a town of over 12,000 people that is unreached.  Her husband, Joy (yes, in Thailand that is a man's name) is currently studying the Bible to be a certified as a lay leader at the Rhema Institute.  They are building relationships with neighbors and evangelizing during this year, and at the beginning of next year, we will rent a building to open a new church.  

Pastor Nampon and Joy are foster parents for Maria, a Blessing Home child from Blessing Home Pattaya.  Maria starts 7th grade this week and is a happy girl who loves school and soccer, has many friends, and loves the Lord.  Your faithful support has saved Maria's life and given her a Christian family that is solid and loving. 

Pastor Nampon has a young daughter, Nok, who was born with a medical condition that causes one of her legs to grow much shorter than the other leg.  Nok has to have frequent surgeries so that the leg can be extended so she can walk.  Nok goes in for surgery next week, so please keep this little one and her family in your prayers.

Pastor Nampon, Nok, Sherri, Mike, and Maria (Joy is missing because he was at Bible college on this day).

Finally, a reminder

In the past two months, there have been several people who sent funds to the wrong place, and usually when this happens, the funds do not end up coming to the Thailand Methodist Mission.  Thailand Methodist Mission is an independent faith mission.  We are not supported through apportionments or through the Advance.  Funds need to be sent to the TMM treasurer, and there are two ways to do this.  

1.  Send a check to TMM at:

Thailand Methodist Mission

P.O. Box 56

Mannsville, KY 42758

OR

2.  Give online at our website at > https://thailandmethodist.org/donate/

Transitions at Blessing Home TaPhraya

Sherri and I are having a wonderful time itinerating among some of our supporting churches and re-uniting with friends and family. We have packed our calendars, and will be traveling many miles during the next 5 weeks, so prayers for traveling mercies are appreciated.

1.  We want to announce that Joshua and Jessica Johnston have been called by the Lord to return to the States to serve at Fairview Baptist Church in Apex, North Carolina.  Joshua is serving as Pastor for Family Discipleship, a position which perfectly suits his passion, gifts, and calling.  Our heart-felt prayers and words of blessing surround them as they go to serve where they are called by God.

The Joshua and Jessica served well at Blessing Home TaPhraya, discipling and training new Pioneer Pastors Det and Dao to serve at their church and to become the new directors of this Blessing Home center.  It is the goal of every TMM missionary to train Thai Christian leaders to do the ministries that they are doing.  We work ourselves out of a job at one location so we can expand to new areas. 

2.  Please pray for Pastors Det and Dao and their daughter Noke, who are now the Directors of the Blessing Home TaPhraya Center.  They are spinning a lot of plates right now.  They have businesses to run to be self-sufficient.  They are both in their final semester of studies at Global Theological Institute, earning their Bachelor of Ministry degrees (This month is their final month of study).  And they lead a new Pioneer Pastor Church and run the Blessing Home Center.  Please lift them in prayer as that the Lord will guide them and strengthen them as they have made many transitions.

Noke teaches Catechism to the young students at Blessing Home TaPhraya

Pastor Dao teaches Bible to the teens at Blessing Home TaPhraya

3.  Please continue to pray for Elder Rang, one of three lay pastors who lead the House of Immanuel Church in Buriram province (his wife Mooey is also one of the three lay pastors there).  Elder Rang has been diagnosed with abdominal cancer and will going to the hospital for treatment five days per week for the next 6 months.  He is in pain and has difficulty breathing right now.  Please pray each day for Elder Rang and his wife Elder Mooey. 

Elder Rang at the hospital

4.  House of Immanuel Church also needs your prayers, as they are now down to one lay pastor, Elder Na, who works as a farmer, takes care of a disabled elderly parent, leads the youth ministry at church and is also the worship leader.  Now she will need to be the preacher every Sunday for the next for the next six months.  Elder Na needs your prayers.  We will be working on some solutions to bring much needed help on Sunday mornings to this church in the meantime. 

5.  PRAISE: Pastor Somchai's back is healed and he is back to work again.  We praise the Lord for answering our prayers for quick healing.  God is good!

And finally

6.  Many of you have expressed interest in participating in the KY VIM Team to Thailand in October.  Here is the link to the webpage: https://www.kyumc.org/eventdetail/2019-thailand-mission-trip-12083151